NBA Preseason Rankings

1) Spurs- The Spurs won everything last season, and are perennial contenders. There’s no reason not to think they’ll do it again. Although they haven’t made any major moves, look for Brent Barry to have a bigger year and Argentinean Fabrico Oberto to make an impact.
2) Heat- Pat Riley shook things up in a big way. He added some offensive punch to the team and lost just a little more than Eddie Jones. Adding Antoine Walker and keeping Alonzo Mourning makes Shaq’s life a lot easier and can keep him off the floor during the regular season. At this point, the less Shaq has to do, the better. They can keep him healthy longer.
3) Pacers- The Pacers lost Reggie Miller. They added Sarunas Jasikevicius, Europe’s best clutch shooter and now the NBA’s most difficult to spell name. They still have Jamal Tinsley, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal. Plus, Ronnie’s back. If he and Jasikevicius weren’t x-factors the Pacers would be ranked higher. At this point number three is the best they can do.

4) Pistons- The Pistons lost Larry Brown and their defense may loose some of its edge. Brown is also a pretty exacting offensive choreographer as well so the big question is just how sloppy will Chauncey Billups get this season? Before Brown, Billups didn’t pass as well and shot too much and too poorly. Now that he’s back with his old coach, Flip Saunders, the man who ran the show for two very efficient squads might be headed back to his old ways, which means the Pistons are headed for a bit of a fall this season. The addition of Dale Davis will help, but what about Darko?
5) Suns-Though they lost two of their starters, in Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson, the Suns added Kurt Thomas and a slew of swingmen. If defense wins championships, then the Suns have taken a big step in getting better defensively with Thomas and Raja Bell. Maybe these are the changes they need to push them over the top. Maybe not. Training camp is going to be key for this team to get together and figure out who they’re going to be this season.
6) Rockets- Derek Anderson and Stromile Swift aren’t going to put the Rockets over the top this year, but they are going to make it easier for the team to win. If the Rockets are going to go deep this season it’s because Yao Ming is able to step up and be a better second option.
7) Mavericks- With Avery Johnson bringing the D in D, and Mark Cuban not doing anything crazy in the off-season, things are looking up for the Mavs. If Johnson can get them to buy into his hardworking defensive concepts this just might be the year that the Mavs get over the top.
8) Wizards- Loosing Larry Hughes is going to hurt, but not as badly because of the additions of Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels. This probably means Antawn Jamison is back at the 4 and the rest of the lineup is smaller. This could hurt the Wiz because they’re not a particularly big team to begin with and they don’t have a lot of depth in the front. Watch out for Gilbert Arenas though, he’s one of the best players in the game.
9) Bulls- It seems like John Paxon will retain all of the key pieces of the team that finished with the third best record in the East last season. He also added some depth in the frontcourt with Malik Allen and possibly Darius Songaila. Ben Gordon’s going to be taking over games the whole game this season so the Bulls should only get better. If they played as well as they did last year and don’t start the season 1-13, the Bulls could be a 50+ win team next year.

10) Nets- The Nets might not be this good, but they’ll definitely be this exciting. Mark Jackson and Nenad Krstic should make for a passable starting 4-5 and will be able to do exactly what the Nets need down low, meaning they won’t hurt the team. Jefferson, Kidd and Carter should be so much fun to watch that its silly.
11) Supersonics- Ray Allen is back and so are a lot of the other guys, which was important for a team that seemed to only have a few guys who’s contracts weren’t up. Although they did loose two key pieces in Antonio Daniels and Nate McMillan. That’s going to hurt and the Sonics are probably going to take a step back next season, unless some of the other guys, like Damien Wilkins, can step up.
12) Nuggets- If they can land Spree, the Nuggets instantly move up two spots. Loosing in the first round the last two years to the Timberwolves and the Spurs will go a long way in toughening up a young team and the Nuggets should be ready to do some more damage this season. Carmelo Anthony’s a year older too and that’s only going to help.
13) Timberwolves- Kevin Garnett is too good for the Wolves to miss the playoffs two years in a row. Adding Rashad McCants and Marko Jaric is going to help the team become better all over the court. This supporting cast isn’t as good as the one that went to the conference finals, but it’s not too bad either. This team isn’t going to win it all this year, but if Kevin McHale can make some shrewd moves during the season, they could do some damage.
14) Grizzlies- We’ll see with the Grizzlies. Jerry West knows what he’s doing, so you can’t help but trust him. They’ve added some tough veterans in Damon Stoudamire, Bobby Jackson and Eddie Jones. While those guys may not be enough to take them far into the playoffs, they may be enough for a push into the second round.

15) Clippers- Believe it or not, this is the year the Clippers will make the playoffs. They’ve done too many right things to not. Sam Cassell, Cutino Mobley, Shaun Livingston and Daniel Ewing should make for a very competent backcourt and that was the Clippers biggest weakness last season. This is their year.
16) Kings- Great offense, but its like they forgot to get players who can play defense. This should be the worst defensive squad that the Kings, a franchise not really known for having competent defensive squads, have put on the court in a while. They may score 120 points a game this season, but we’ll see how many they give up.
17) Cavaliers- They’ve added a lot to help Lebron James, but have the Cavaliers done enough? Probably not enough to be in contention, but enough to make the playoffs. They were disgracefully bad on the road last season, but adding veterans like Donyell Marshal and Larry Hughes should make a big difference in that department.
18) 76rs- The Sixers just keep spending money. Either the Sixers have to win with this team, or it’s going to b a long time before they can rebuild. CWebb and AI may have enough of a supporting cast around them, but ultimately, it boils down to what those two can do. If they can make it happen, then the Sixers are going to win, if not, then there are going to be a lot of unhappy Philly fans.
19) Bucks- The Bucks should be able to do something. TJ Ford is back; they’ve added a #1 draft pick in Andrew Bogut and have a good second man in Bobby Simmons. They’ve been ridiculously lucky this off-season and if that luck holds up during the season, they could shoot up the list.

20) Warriors- The Warriors may be good, eventually, but they’ve got a lot of steps forward to take before that day comes. Defense anyone? More efficient offense? A coach who can coach any of these two important aspects of professional basketball? The Warriors have the talent, but they need a better system to make things happen. Its time to replace Mike Montgomery.
21) Magic- This franchise is a mess. They’ll win 30-35 games because they have Grant Hill, Dwight Howard and Steve Francis, but they need to pick a direction and go with it. John Weisbrod is finally out of Orlando, but the Magic still need direction. Brian Hill is a good coach and should make some difference with this squad, but right now, they’re not better than 30-35 wins.
22) Lakers- This team has upside. This team has talent. What this team doesn’t have is a point guard. Phil Jackson likes big guards, but he needs somebody who can make plays. Lamar Odom is a good player, but they’re asking him to do too much next season to be a dominant presence inside and the main playmaker. If the Lakers get another guy to distribute the ball, and they can, then they’re going to be successful this season. If not, it could be a while.
23) Knicks- Larry Brown will help, but this team is really going to struggle to improve beyond the roster they have, as the contracts on their roster are all fairly terrible. They’re likely starting Jerome James, which can work if you have Ray Allen, but the Knicks don’t have anyone that good. Stephon Marbury is really going to have to listen up and buy into LB’s system to make this team work, if he does, then look for the Knicks to move up.
24) Celtics- It’s probably about time for the Celtics to trade Paul Pierce and add some more youth to the roster. This team is not going win very much this season. Pierce is not going to be a very happy camper, and its best if they trade him as soon as they get a good offer.
25) Raptors- The Raptors aren’t going anywhere as long as Rob Babcock is designing this team. Chris Bosh is going to be good this season, but they don’t have too much else. Either the raptors need to dump Babcock for a legit GM or they need to promote him into a position where he can’t make any executive decisions about player personal. The Raptors are lost and its time for someone to get out of the car and ask for directions.

26) Jazz- Deron Williams will make a big difference, but the Jazz are still a few years away from doing too much. This is a team that, with the right personal moves, is going to be good someday. That day could be soon, as they’ve got a great coach who gets the best out of his players, but Jerry Sloan may need a little bit more to work with before this team is successful.
27) Blazers- Nate McMillan can take this roster a lot of places in the future, but the future is not now, and the Blazers aren’t going anywhere fast this season. Martell Webster can shoot the lights out and should really spread things out for this team, but what it all comes down to is the erratic play of Zach Randolph. He must learn to play with a team. He’s got so much talent, but he’s wasting it by taking terrible shots, which is hard to do when you play 5-7 feet away from the basket, but he manages to take them anyway. If McMillan can get through to Randolph, this team could develop and win a bit more this season, but that is a really, really big fat “if.” Especially if Randolph comes back fat and out of shape, as he’s been known to do in the past.
28) Bobcats- Bernie’s boys came a long way last year, but they still have a long way to go before they’re a 25 win team. All you can ask for is development with a second year franchise, and the Bobcats are certainly taking care of business in that department. All they have to do this season is lose a lot and get a good draft pick next year. They’re in good shape to do that so it looks like the Cats are in decent shape.
29) Hawks- Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and well, that’s it. That’s all they’ve done. It’s a big step from nowhere, but the Hawks still have a lot of terrible basketball ahead of them this year. Loosing Belkin as an ownership partner may make a difference for personal moves in the future, but thats not enough.

30) Hornets- The Hornets lost out on Dan Dickau. It’s gotten that bad in New Orleans. They lost out on a player that spent his career as trade filler. Their best player is Jamal Magloire, an unhappy, offensively challenged Canadian center that they can’t seem to convert into younger talent. If nothing else, the Hornets should be a lot of fun to watch because J.R. Smith and Chris Andersen should throw down a lot of dunks from the passes that Raymond Felton is going to be dishing out. Fun or not, this Hornets team is a huge mess. Byron Scott is in real deep.